


another cup of tea

by circuitry



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Fluff, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, They/Them Pronouns for Benrey (Half-Life), Trans Gordon Freeman, also Hurt/Comfort i guess?, im kind of projecting here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26369158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/circuitry/pseuds/circuitry
Summary: Months after the incident at Black Mesa, Gordon is trying his best to recover from the trauma. Benrey is trying their best to comfort him, and does a lot more good for their partner than they know.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Comments: 5
Kudos: 179





	another cup of tea

**Author's Note:**

> i just finished hlvrai and now i have frenrey brainrot and this is honestly just a drabble. i am not proofreading this sorry in advance

Awakening abruptly, Gordon's eyes shot open. A heavy pressure weighed itself down onto his ribs, which lead to shallow and panicked breaths. 'Just another nightmare,' he thought to himself, focusing all of his energy on trying to breathe normally again. Staring up at the ceiling, Gordon focused on the same spot he always stared at and did his best to ignore the hot, sticky feeling that overwhelmed all of his senses. He was tired. Exhausted. It was hard to keep his eyes open, but his brain was racing at a million miles an hour. There was no way that he was going to be able to fall back asleep; at least not for another few hours if he just laid there.

It was tea time.

Gordon had never really been a fan of tea. It was always too bitter for him, and milk or sugar or anything like that just made it taste worse. But then he realized that he was just steeping his tea for way too long. Now, a cup of properly brewed green tea never failed to help calm him down on nights like this. Gordon reached for his glasses that sat in a small dish on his bedside table. He put on his glasses and blinked the remaining sleep out of his eyes, casting a glance to the digital clock that gave a soft blue illumination to his room. 2:28 AM. He pulled off his sheets and hauled himself out of his toasty bed and into the cold air of his bedroom, sticking his feet into the slippers he kept on his bedside floor. He shuffled out of his room and into the small living room that connected to his kitchen, only to see the bright light of his TV that lit up Benrey, who sat on his couch, playing video games.

"you're up early," they remarked.

"You're up late," he mumbled back. Gordon didn't stop his journey to the kitchen, he was determined to get himself a big ol' mug of green tea right then and there. He could hear a little jingle, indicating that Benrey had paused their game, followed by shuffling. They didn't ever really officially move in, they just started coming over a lot and eventually stopped leaving. Gordon filled up the pot of the electric kettle that Dr. Coomer and Dr. Bubby had given him as a gift a while back, docking it on its little hot plate and flicking the switch that turned it on.

"could you not sleep or something?" Benrey asked, sitting up on the counter across from the hot kettle. Their legs swung gently, softly and rhythmically thudding against the cabinets beneath them.

"Nightmare," Gordon said, his voice still gruff from having just woken up. "Do you want some tea?"

"no."

"More for me, then," he said, reaching his hand into the almost-empty box of green tea that he stopped bothering to put away, and retrieving a sachet.

"are you going to keep it all to yourself?"

"The tea? I just asked you if you want some, and you said no-"

"your nightmare, dummy."

"...You went through it all, too. I don't want to make you remember. I don't want to burden you with it."

A silence ensued, the two staring at the kettle while the water began to simmer, and eventually began to boil. Gordon was going about brewing his tea - as one does - and was in the middle of removing the tea bag from his oversized mug when he felt the back of his shirt being tugged at. He turned around to meet Benrey's eyes. Their face was soft, something so rare to see. Their lips twitched, visibly trying to think of something to say, but definitely failing. They were never really good with words, and especially not words of comfort or reassurance. Gordon couldn't help but stare at their face and traced every feature with his eyes. Just being in their presence made his shoulders lighten up a little, relieving a weight he didn't even know he was carrying. Somewhat abruptly, they tenderly pulled him into their arms, snapping him out of his very gay trance.

"if you don't want to talk about it, fine. but it's not burdensome. you aren't a burden. not to me."

He crumpled into them.

It was a safe place for Gordon, in Benrey's arms. It was pretty often that they would hug, and his arms wrapped around their waist and their hands buried in his thick, messy curls just felt right, no matter how often it happened.

The pair sat like that for a good long while, enjoying one another's embrace. It was a healing time for them both. 

"gordon?" Benrey chimed in, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"your tea is cold by now."

"Oh, fuck. I forgot I made tea."

"you're dumb."

"I know."

Gordon grasped his lukewarm mug of tea with both hands, sipping it delicately at first, but eventually chugging down the rest of it. He placed the mug into the sink and rinsed it out, letting out a satisfied sigh. He felt a sense of contentment. He was full of tea and truly in love with his partner, but he found himself growing tired yet again.

"Will you come back to bed with me? It's really late, and you need some sleep, too."

"yeah. sure."

Benrey jumped off the counter they sat on, a little mad that they had lost so much height. The top of their head only came to Gordon's collarbone when they both stood up straight. They bonked their forehead on his chest before they followed him back to his bedroom. His bed was just big enough for both of them to sprawl out a little, but goodness was his duvet so fluffy and cozy to sleep under. The two got adjusted in the dark, cuddling up to each other, and allowed themselves to drift off.

But before Benrey could sleep, there was just one last thing they had to say, even if Gordon had already fallen asleep like they thought.

"...i love you, gordon."

"I love you, too."


End file.
